Here is a follow up by Bob Gale with his screen used "Photo" boards for filming comparing them to the Matty Board. This thing was Hyped to the max. I'm disappointed in the final result. While there were 30 different boards, fans wanted the Hero Board with the lenticular. The Photoboard pattern wasn't even used by Mattel, the "bubbles" are a made up internal design by Mattel.

I got my board today and man am I pissed. Even after all the crap Mattel got for the inaccuracies of the board I was still excited. That didn't really bother me too much because it pretty much looked like the board I remembered. But all those good feelings went away as soon as I opened it and saw the wost sticker application I have ever seen! It has several creases and on large bubble near the middle. The big sticker on the top is put on kind of crooked so the edge overlaps the area where the sticker was supposed to be inside. The sticker patterns don't match up on the border that runs along the sides so it doesn't look consistent. You can easily tell where one sticker ends and another starts. I mean I have no clue how something like this passed quality control, especially for a supposed prop replica. There is better sticker application on any toy you would find in the preschool toy isle at Walmart.

Just wanted to weigh in here. I like BTTF, but I'm not a fanatic about it. I wish it had the lenticular sticker because that would have been cooler, but I don't mind things like the pink hole where the stand would go. That just makes sense to me. I like how Mattel tried (but failed) to make it a bit more as if it were a real Mattel product. I just thought this would be cool to own and that it would be as great as the Ghostbusters replicas I bought from Mattel, so I pre-ordered my Hover Board. After opening it up and seeing what I paid for though, I'm returning it for three main reasons.

1. The shipping box was smashed in on one corner which also damaged the corner of the white mailer straight through to the box of the actual Hover Board box. The packing material I found inside the shipping box was one balled-up piece of brown paper. This is a collector's item. Have some class, Mattel, and treat it like one. Use more or better packing materials or mark the damn boxes with a "FRAGILE" stamp, or "FRAGILE" tape, or something. You ought to know your audience by now...

2. My pre-ordered Hover Board was missing the 6" mini board. How obnoxious. Apparently, I was not the only one this happened to either. How is this possible? I don't know. Maybe we should check eBay to see if one of Mattel's factory workers is selling / has sold it there with all the other products that leak out en mass. Someone needs to find some new factories or tighten up security...

3. The stickers were terrible. The ones on top, bottom, sides, all of them. Some crooked, some creases, some bubbles, and in general, they looked shiny and cheap. Heck, the two big stickers on the top of the board were connected with little pieces of clear tape to keep them from peeling back like other areas of the board were. WHAT?! Not at all worth $141 shipped.

I didn't even bother to put the batteries in it or set up the stand, but I've heard (a) the sounds are muffled and terrible, and (b) the stand it poorly designed, too. Also, from the video reviews I've seen, (c) it barely slides on carpet and scuffs up on hard floors. I knew it wouldn't hover, but it doesn't even roll or slide or anything. I was so excited for this, and it was a TOTAL let down. Mattel really should be ashamed. Why the heck would I want to give them $141 for the "worst toy of the year." Please.

What burns me more than how this turned out is why this turned out this way and how Mattel has handled this item from the start.

They began by bragging about how amazing this replica would be, but once it was a "Go!" Mattel disappeared. No news, no updates. The occasional question was answered, a few promotional interview videos were out there. Mattel made a video of Bob Gale coming with the design team to show fans how much work was going into the board, but then - nothing. Lots of time passed without any photos or news showing any real progress or information on the board. This understandably worried a lot of people. They sunk their money into this project and had no idea where it was going.

Finally, we saw a terrible board at a Con and fans were up in arms. Mattel later made that video with the designer guy who looked like he didn't think he deserved to have to do a "defense" video, and we were promised that the problems fans had with the board would be fixed - that the board shown would be nothing like the final product, but it was EXACTLY like the final product. Fans were so up in arms about ordering blind and then getting a piece of junk that Mattel decided to let them cancel their pre-orders or return the board for a refund - of course, you have to pay the return shipping, which I think is terrible, because if fans knew what they would be getting in the mail, they wouldn't have had it ship in the first place. If someone wants to return it because it's awful, Mattel should be paying for that return shipping, not the duped consumer.

There were no reviews until the last minute. Mattel didn't show anything of the board until it was basically already in the mail. When fans received this abomination - yes, don't argue, "worst toy of the year" - and were outraged, what did Mattel do? Nothing. Bob Gale apologized because he was so dissatisfied and retracted his prior endorsement. Mattel apparently shut him out during the process, just like they shut out the fans who invested their money in this item. The only word from Mattel now is that they stand by the piece of **** they produced that has been officially deemed the "worst toy of the year." You don't stand by something like that. You apologize for it. You be forthcoming. People are almost unanimously dissatisfied with this product. That's nothing to be proud of - no matter how hard you tried. You failed. You failed, Mattel, and you let a lot of people down. Smugly saying that you did your best and are happy with how it turned out is just digging yourself deeper.

Considering that people ordered blind, that this was a collector's item, that the standards and expectations would be high, Mattel absolutely failed at communicating with the fans in an active manner and delivering what fans wanted and expected. Progress reports should have been given, limitations should have been addressed head on. I know that Mattel doesn't have to respond to messages on their forum and that they do it out of the goodness of their heart blah blah blah...but communicating with fans is how you make sure you deliver what they want, keep them happy, keep them coming back, keep them buying more and more. That's not out of the goodness of your heart. That's just good business. It just makes sense. If you don't involve yourself with fans as much as humanly possible, you're an idiot. Show what you're doing. Take notes. Make changes. Include your investors - the fans. Don't surprise them with your best effort that sucks only because you didn't include them or keep them informed. This isn't a retail line. It's not big-box stores buying these things. It's individual collectors. Individual fans. The world is evolving, the way people communicate and operate is changing and companies need to be more involved with communicating their work to individuals. I'll grant that Mattel communicates with fans and collectors tons more than other toy companies, but that's why I expected better from them on this. The Hover Board did not meet the expectations they set, and it was just a huge let down all around.

The Hover Board was inarguably not only a failure as a product but a failure of how the company operates and interacts with its clientele.

After this year-long fiasco, I'll be glad to be returning the board and getting my refund, and I hope other people who aren't satisfied do the same. Mattel always says that you vote with your dollar, so send them a message of what we think is acceptable and what isn't. "The worst toy of the year" just isn't acceptable to me.

Hey GoldBlade6 did you call for a refund? Were you given a refund choice? I really think this thing is a POS board IMO .. I'd be interested to see if Matty gives refunds on this.. Totally overhyped esp at such at a high cost and terrible end product. So my WORST purchase of 2012!! Totally regretting I got this..

I just called up customer service, explained that I wanted to make a return, explained that it was the Hover Board and that it was missing the mini board, the stickers had wrinkles, bubbles and were peeling, and that it just wasn't up to par, so they sent me an email, very quickly, with the address of where I should send the Hover Board and to include my order number, and I sent it off. I had to pay the return shipping which was around $15, but I just want it gone and the majority of my money back. If Mattel had any class, they'd refund my shipping, but they don't, so they won't. It's an easy return, and it's easier for Mattel to take the returns than deal with the potential class-action they could face if someone decided to go after them for false advertising, breach of contract, etc. etc. etc.